


The Assumption of Mary

by WinchesterWarrenSon



Series: The Ox Syndicate [4]
Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Yakuza, Gen, Roman Catholicism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-15
Updated: 2015-08-15
Packaged: 2018-04-14 20:44:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4579395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinchesterWarrenSon/pseuds/WinchesterWarrenSon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gohan has a lot of questions about Piccolo, about his tattoos and the "horns" on his head, but also about Piccolo's culture and religion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Assumption of Mary

Piccolo adjusted well enough into his new role as Gohan's babysitter. He felt like they were keeping a watchful eye on him, and that made sense, considering.... But aside from that feeling, he and the boy were often left to their own devices. 

Mostly Piccolo oversaw whether or not Gohan was doing what his mother had told him to do, which was his homework. But he also supervised him when he had his break time and exercise. 

Piccolo shook his head as the boy tried to imitate martial art moves from Vegeta's training across the street. 

"That's not how you make a fist. You'll break your thumb that way." 

"Huh? It's not?" 

"No, look...." 

So he showed him how to punch properly. He wondered if Son Goku and Chichi were planning on teaching the boy how to fight.... 

Even while he wasn't officially looking after Gohan, the boy still managed to find him and bug him with questions. 

Piccolo now had a room inside of the main Son home. It was bigger than what he had had before, but smaller than the other rooms. He didn't mind that at all. He was lucky enough as it was. And there was room for his religious paraphernalia. 

On August 15th, Piccolo knew he couldn't actually go to Mass (and with his way of life, that may never be something that would be appropriate for him to do unless he went to Confession), but he had his rosary and planned to dedicate a period of time in the day to venerate the Virgin Mary. 

He knelt on the pillow in front of his small statue of Mary, took time to light the tiny prayer candles around her, then took out his rosary and begun his prayers. 

He heard the door creak open, but he didn't have to turn his head around to know that it was Gohan. Only the boy made footsteps like that. 

"Hi, Mr. Piccolo! Dinner's ready! What're you doing?" 

Piccolo sighed silently, but he finished the prayer he was on before he spoke up. 

"I'm praying." 

"Oh." 

A pause, and Piccolo attempted to continue. 

"You do that a lot. Why?" 

He tried not to sigh again. 

"Because that's what you do when you want to show your respect to the holy people who have been looking after you." 

Gohan tilted his head, looking at the statue of Mary, then turned his head to see the Santa Muerte altar not too far away from the set-up for Mary. Then his eyes went to the big Lady of Guadalupe cloth hanging on the wall. 

"You're Christian, right?" 

"Yes." 

"I thought Christians worshipped that guy with the long hair and beard." 

Piccolo tried to be patient. 

"That man is Jesus Christ, and yes, he is a very big part of it. The Virgin Mary, right here," Piccolo put his hand on the table in front of him, "is his mother. Without her, there would be no Jesus, and God would not have been able to send His Son to Earth to lead us to His Word. No Jesus means no forgiveness of our sins, which means no Heaven. She is the Mother of God and of us all." 

Gohan furrowed his eyebrows, then looked over to the Lady of Guadalupe. 

"Is that her, too?" 

Piccolo nodded. "She one day came to a man named Juan Diego and told him that she wanted a church built on the very spot that she appeared on. No one thought that she'd appear to an Aztec, let alone speak his language, and he was able to prove that she visited him by a gift she had given him. The gift was a bouquet of flowers, and he took them to the Bishop of the area. When he showed the flowers to the Bishop, it created the image of the Holy Mother you see there." 

Gohan looked over at Piccolo. 

"Aztec.... They lived where your people came from, right?" 

Piccolo snorted. 

"Something like that." 

"So they looked like you?" 

"Minus the tattoos and other stuff," Piccolo said, gently patting the bumps on his forehead that made him look like he was growing horns on his forehead. "I guess. I've never actually seen a real one. They've been dead a long time." 

Gohan then looked over at Santa Muerte on the other table. 

"What about her?" 

"La Madrina." 

"Is she the Virgin Mary, too?" 

"Oh no. She's a different person entirely. La Madrina and the Holy Mother both look after me in my life, and La Madrina will lead me into her arms when I die, and then the Holy Mother will welcome me into Heaven after my spirit is cleansed of my sins." 

He had no idea what Gohan thought about all this, or if he even really understood what it all meant. The boy was being raised as . . . he wasn't even sure, but it was either Buddhist or Taoist, and it wasn't Piccolo's business to know which one. Neither Chichi nor Goku were all that religious, either way, and they certainly were not following any kind of peaceful ideology that those two disciplines taught. Not that Piccolo was any better, but at least he still followed the rules. 

"Now, today is a very important day for the Holy Mother, and I need to pray in peace. She deserves at least that much." 

"Hm? Important day?" 

"Today is the Assumption of Mary, when she was brought into Heaven by God Himself, joining her Son. This is all I'm able to offer her right now, and I'd like to be able to do it in peace." 

He'd have gotten flowers for her, but things had gotten so hectic lately, though he felt like he was just trying to find an excuse for his failure at getting her anything aside from prayers. 

Gohan picked up on the edge to his voice, and Gohan nodded. 

"Okay! I'll let Mommy know you'll be a little late." 

"Thank you." 

Gohan then left Piccolo in peace, and Piccolo went back to saying his rosary. 

When Gohan arrived at the dinner table and was asked where Piccolo was, his explanation did not come out exactly the way Piccolo had told it to him. 

"He's busy praying to his momma 'cause today is when she went to Heaven." 

Goku, Yamcha, Krillin, and 18 didn't say anything, but Chichi patted Gohan on the head and took care of making sure Piccolo had a plate wrapped up and ready for him when he was finished.


End file.
